page_title: Devonport Guildhall
section_title: The building of the guildhall
hierarchical_section_title: Devonport Guildhall / History / The building of the guildhall
caption_attribution_description: A contemporary print of John Foulston's Town Hall, Column and Library in Devonport, Devon, UK.
context_page_description: Devonport Guildhall is a municipal building that served as a municipal hall, courthouse, mortuary, and police station, located in the municipal centre of the town of Devonport, in Plymouth, Devon, England. The site fell into disrepair and since the mid-1980s has been repurposed for community facilities. It is a Grade I listed building.
context_section_description: The guildhall, which was designed by John Foulston in the Regency style with Greek Doric features, was completed between 1821 and 1824. Foulston designed a cluster of four buildings together in the area: the Guildhall, Column and Oddfellow's Hall still stand today whilst his Mount Zion Calvinist Chapel is now lost. The area of Devonport was then called Plymouth Dock and the presence of the Royal Navy brought prosperity to the area. A petition was taken to King George IV, who granted permission for the area to be called Devonport in 1824.
  Devonport Guildhall was home to the magistrates court and the Mayor's Parlour and also was used for social events (the courtroom had removable fixtures to hold events and balls in the evening). There were cells and a mortuary, and a police station at the rear of the building. It was also the meeting place of the county borough of Devonport established under the Local Government Act 1888.
caption: John Foulston's Town Hall, Column and Library in Devonport, c. 1825.
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